Japan Considers Expanding COVID-19 State of Emergency to Osaka Area

Possibility of Adding Aichi and Gifu Prefectures... No Nationwide Expansion Planned

As Japan declared a state of emergency to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), the traditional market in Ueno, Tokyo, was bustling with shoppers on the 11th. In Tokyo, the spread of COVID-19 has not slowed, with over 1,200 new confirmed cases reported that day. The Japanese government declared a state of emergency on the 8th for four metropolitan areas in the capital region to curb the spread of COVID-19 and is also considering expanding it to other regions.

The Japanese government has decided to issue a state of emergency declaration for the Osaka area in response to the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), Japanese media including Kyodo News reported on the 12th.

According to the reports, Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga stated at the ruling Liberal Democratic Party executive meeting that day, "There are areas where infections are rapidly increasing, including Osaka, so we are considering expanding the areas subject to the state of emergency declaration."

Prime Minister Suga also said regarding the issuance of a state of emergency to the three Kansai regional local governments?Osaka Prefecture, Kyoto Prefecture, and Hyogo Prefecture?that "We will quickly make a decision based on expert opinions and the situation."

Earlier, on the 7th, the Japanese government announced that it would declare a COVID-19 state of emergency from the 8th of this month to the 7th of next month for four metropolitan local governments in the Tokyo metropolitan area: Tokyo, Kanagawa Prefecture, Saitama Prefecture, and Chiba Prefecture.

This is Japan's second state of emergency declaration following the one in April-May last year, and it includes measures such as ▲ refraining from going out after 8 p.m., ▲ shortening business hours of restaurants and other establishments to 8 p.m., and ▲ reducing the number of commuters by 70%.

Meanwhile, Asahi Shimbun reported, citing a senior government official, that the state of emergency declaration will not be expanded nationwide.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.